Stewart sweeps at Dover Downs; Schumacher wins

DOVER, Del. - Tony Stewart doesn't think he should be considered the master of The Monster Mile.

He made that argument after winning the MBNA.com 400 Sunday, taking both races this season at one of NASCAR's toughest tracks.

''We win two races and all of a sudden we're dominating?'' Stewart asked. ''We really weren't dominant all day by any means.''

But there certainly was a good reason for his victory.

''The car was the best at the end, a time of the race when we really needed it,'' Stewart said.

He became the first to double since Jeff Gordon won twice in 1996 at Dover Downs International Speedway. It was the seventh sweep since the track opened in 1969.

This victory was especially impressive because Stewart had problems getting up to speed early in the weekend and started 27th in a field of 43. In June, when he won the MBNA Platinum 400, the driver from Rushville, Ind., started 16th.

Stewart downplayed the importance of starting first.

''Poles are nice, but you get to take the picture with the big trophy on Sunday,'' he said. ''We know we run good on Sunday, and we're putting an emphasis on winning races.''

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli is confident that they will continue to do just that in the coming years.

''We battled back and got the car back to where it was last three times,'' he said of Stewart's previous runs at Dover. ''When he gets on rhythm, I don't think anybody is better out there.'"

Still, he was talking to his driver on the radio, urging him forward but with a sense of caution. Later, Stewart laughed at that.

''I think he was trying to calm himself down,'' he said of his crew chief. ''I said, ''If I go any slower the car's going to fire me.'''

Stewart ended the run of three straight wins in this race by Mark Martin, who had a transmission problem and wound up sixth. He was one of several drivers to have problems.

Stewart led 163 of the 400 laps, including the last 54. In June, he led 242.

''We were just kind of taking it easy, taking care of the car, trying to stay out of trouble,'' he said. ''It was the same car we ran in the spring and at Bristol. It works really good on concrete tracks.''

The last time out with it, Stewart finished second in Bristol, Tenn.

Stewart gave up the lead when he pitted under green on lap 343, but went back in front for good four laps later.

The win ended an eight-race losing streak for the 1999 Winston Cup rookie of the year. It was his fourth win this year tying him with Rusty Wallace for the series lead and seventh in the career of the one-time Indy Racing League champion.

Jeff Burton, who led every lap a week earlier while winning in Loudon, N.H., and Jerry Nadeau were among those who had the look of winners. But they fell out with blown tires. At least five cars left the race that way.

''How can you beat Goodyear?'' asked Tony Furr, Nadeau's crew chief. ''If I brought a car to the race track that was that bad, I'd be fired. It was just a junky tire.''

Stewart also thought the tires were too much of a factor.

''I wish they'd quit messing with them,'' he said. ''When they keep changing, it makes it tough on everybody.''

Zipadelli admitted the race was a bit nerve-racking, but said he was never concerned about Stewart having a problem.

''We seem to be very conservative in that area at most race tracks,'' Zipadelli said. ''We'll finish second or fifth before we take a chance on ruining a race car or hurting a driver.''

It was a profitable day for Stewart's teammate, Bobby Labonte, whose lead in the series standings grew to a season-high 249 points when he finished fourth. Burton and reigning Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett, who crashed early in the race, were the biggest losers.

Their troubles allowed seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt to move into second place with a finish of 17th. Jarrett finished 32nd to remain third, 267 points back. Burton wound up 36th and fell to fourth in the title race, a point behind Jarrett.

Stewart's Pontiac beat Johnny Benson's by 6.752 seconds for his seventh career victory. He earned $158,535 from a purse of $3 million.

''Tony was just a little too tough, which is OK,'' said Benson, who matched a career best with his finish. ''We'll take second and get out of here.''

The winner averaged 115.191 mph in a race slowed eight times by 45 laps of caution. There were 25 lead changes among 13 drivers.

Third was the Ford of Ricky Rudd, a four-time winner.

''We were just playing defense there at the end,'' he said. ''I could run faster, but the tire wear was pretty bad.''

Fourth in a Chevrolet was Steve Park followed by the Pontiac of Labonte. After Martin came Joe Nemechek, Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon.

Polesitter Jeremy Mayfield had an engine problem and finished 35th.

U.S. Grand Prix

INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Schumacher overwhelmed the field in the inaugural Formula One race at Indianapolis, winning the U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday and taking the lead for the world championship.

Not even a spin five laps from the end could keep the German from running away with the first F1 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The crowd of more than 200,000 was the biggest in the history of the Grand Prix circuit.

Schumacher beat Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello of Brazil by 12.118 seconds for his second straight victory and seventh of the season.

Schumacher's 42 career wins put him one in front of the late Ayrton Senna and just nine behind all-time leader Alain Prost. More important, it gave him 10 more points and put Schumacher in control of his own destiny as he tries to become the first Ferrari driver to win a world title since Jody Scheckter in 1979.

Mika Hakkinen's narrow lead in the championship went up in the flames from his expiring engine just 26 laps into the 73-lap event on the new 2.602-mile, 13-turn road circuit. The Finn failed to finish for only the third time in 15 races this season and now trails Schumacher by eight points with two events remaining.

Hakkinen, the two-time defending champion, began the day with a two-point lead over Schumacher. He was second and steadily catching the leader before his Mercedes engine began spewing flames and smoke and he drove slowly to the pit lane.

The Jordan of Heinz Harald Frentzen of Austria finished a distant third, followed by the BAR-Honda of Jacques Villeneuve of Canada, the only driver in the 22-car field with previous experience at Indy.

Villeneuve won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 on the historic 2.5-mile oval, only a small portion of which is used in the road course configuration.

David Coulthard, Hakkinen's McLaren teammate, took the lead at the start but was later penalized for jumping the green light.

Schumacher, who began the race from the pole, made a spectacular pass of the Scot, going around Coulthard on the outside on the main straightaway and barely squeezing in front as the two entered the first turn on lap seven.

Coulthard slipped back to 16th after taking his 10-second stop-and-go penalty. But he was able to salvage a fifth-place finish. The final point went to Villeneuve's BAR-Honda teammate Riccardo Zonta, who finished sixth, just ahead of Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine, the last driver on the lead lap.

With the track still damp after morning rain, all the drivers began the race on rain tires. The track dried fast, though, and all the competitors began trickling into the pits for dry tires after the fifth lap.

Schumacher remained on the track, lengthening his lead. By the time he made his tire stop on lap 16 the last driver to do so Schumacher had built a lead of more than 43 seconds. After the stop, he still led Hakkinen by 16.3 seconds.

Schumacher never trailed the rest of the way. His lead over Barrichello was 26.6 as he entered the tight infield portion of the track on lap 69. That's when his car suddenly went into a 360-degree spin and slid momentarily into the grass.